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ABC affiliates owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group opted against airing its much-publicized Charlie Kirk tribute special on Friday night. The broadcasting conglomerate owns the most ABC affiliates in the country but is best known\u2014until last week anyway\u2014for its \u201cmust-run\u201d segments highlighting conservative viewpoints that air on local news networks across the country. These segments inspired a Last Week Tonight <\/i>episode<\/a> and a Deadspin<\/i> video<\/a> that became the most upvoted video in the history of Reddit<\/a>, showcasing the homogenized views Sinclair offers. As reported last week<\/a>, the local news giant became news itself after it announced it would be replacing the suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live!<\/i> with a tribute to Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead during a campus speech earlier this month. Sinclair stipulated that they would keep Kimmel off its 40 affiliate channels \u201cuntil formal discussions are held with ABC regarding the network\u2019s commitment to professionalism and accountability.\u201d Sinclair also wanted Kimmel to apologize to Kirk\u2019s family and make a donation to his conservative youth outreach organization, Turning Point USA. In the end, Sinclair didn\u2019t air the special, announcing nine minutes before it was set to air that it could be found on YouTube<\/a>. Sinclair posted a statement stating it would \u201ccontinue to air ABC network programming as scheduled in the late-night time period.\u201d Viewers already tuning in were treated to an installment of Celebrity Family Feud<\/i> instead.<\/p>\n Disney removed Kimmel from his post after he commented on Kirk\u2019s murder during his monologue last Monday. \u201cWe hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,\u201d the host said. Afterwards, FCC chair Brendan Carr implied that affiliates carrying Kimmel could lose their licenses if the host didn\u2019t change his tune. This prompted affiliate group Nexstar, which is awaiting the FCC approval of a $6.2 billion purchase of the affiliate group Tegna<\/a>, to \u201cpreempt\u201d Kimmel\u2019s show. Sinclair followed soon after.<\/p>\n Kimmel is the latest late-night host critical of the Trump administration to get kicked off the air. After Colbert\u2019s firing at CBS in July, President Trump also signaled that Kimmel\u2019s time was limited. \u201cI absolutely love that Colbert\u2019 got fired,\u201d Trump wrote on Truth Social<\/a>. \u201cI hear Jimmy Kimmel is next.\u201d Since Kimmel\u2019s suspension began, ABC affiliates have leaned on Family Feud<\/i>. Host Steve Harvey also made news this week, saying he quit stand-up because of \u201ccancel culture<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n